Globe Trot 05.28

On this Memorial Day,the Associated Press is reporting that almost half-45 percent of 1.6 million veterans-from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are seeking compensation for service-related injuries: "Many factors are driving the dramatic increase in claims-the weak economy, more troops surviving wounds, and more awareness of problems such as concussions and PTSD." More than 6,400 U.S. military personnel have died in post-9/11 conflict.

A weekend massacre in Syria killed more than 100 people and sent the UN Security Council into special session on Sunday afternoon. At least 108 people, including 49 children and 34 women, died in Friday's attacks in Houla, a town in Homs province, with many shot at point-blank range. The Security Council blamed Syrian forces for the attack, but some officials said there is a question whether Syrian forces or rebel fighters were behind the mass deaths. UN observer mission head Maj. Gen. Robert Mood reportedly did not directly blame Syrian forces in his closed-door briefing with the Security Council, yet member countries came out blaming the discredited regime of President Bashir al-Assad.

Iran-linked operatives tried to kill foreign diplomats, including Americans, in at least seven countries over a span of 13 months. The targets have included two Saudi officials, a half-dozen Israelis, and in Azerbaijan, several Americans, officials said.

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So you want to do some good in South Sudan? Longtime advocates and Christian workers in Sioux Falls, S.D., describe their challenges in putting their humanitarian impulses to work in a war-torn country. "If God wants a church over there," said organizer Roger Quam, "He'll get it built."